The U.S. Department of Treasury is ramping up its enforcement against the potential for money laundering and criminal financing through cryptocurrencies.

Improving “anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)” rules is one part of regulating the “evolving threat” of cryptocurrencies, according to Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker, who testified before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Financial institutions need to implement new rules to ensure they are complying with new regulations, which will include a new “due diligence” rule which takes effect in May 2018, she said.

Cryptocurrency exchanges fall under this umbrella, Mandelker said, outlining how the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would work with exchanges to ensure criminal parties were not using cryptocurrencies to transfer funds.

She explained:

“To ensure that virtual currency providers and exchangers know the rules and follow them, FinCEN has prioritized engagement with – and examination of – these entities, focusing both on the approximately 100 that have registered with FinCEN as money transmitters as required, as well as those that have not.”

Paul Gordon is the publisher and editor of iState.TV. He has published and edited newspapers, poetry magazines and online weekly magazines.
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